1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a production method of an electron source in which electron-emitting devices are arranged at each cross point of a matrix wiring, and a production method of an image display constituted by using the electron source.
2. Related Background Art
In recent years, in general, as a flat panel display, an image display has been proposed, which comprises an electron source arranging electron-emitting devices of a self-luminous type in the shape of a matrix on a rear plate, and a face plate having a phosphor. Conventionally, broadly classifying the electron-emitting devices, a thermoelectron-emitting device and a cold cathode electron-emitting device have been known, and in the cold cathode electron-emitting device, there are a field emission type (FE type), a metal/insulating layer/metal type (MIM type), a surface conduction electron-emitting device and the like. The surface conduction electron-emitting device allows a current to flow on a thin film of a small area formed on a substrate in parallel with the film surface, thereby generating an electron discharge. As a material of the thin film, SnO2, Au, In2O3/SnO2, carbon and the like have been proposed.
In FIGS. 8A and 8B are schematically shown one structural example of the surface conduction electron-emitting device. In the drawing, reference numeral 1 denotes a substrate, reference numerals 2 and 3 device electrodes, reference numeral 7 a device film, and reference numeral 8 an electron-emitting region. FIG. 8A is a top plan schematic illustration, and FIG. 8B is a cross sectional view cut along the line 8B-8B in FIG. 8A.
The electron-emitting device of FIGS. 8A and 8B are constituted such that the device electrodes 2 and 3 are formed on the substrate 1, and after that, the conductive device films 7 are formed so as to communicate with the device electrodes 2 and 3, and a voltage is applied between the device electrodes 2 and 3 so as to subject the device films 7 to an energization operation referred to as an energization forming, thereby locally breaking, deforming or transforming the device films 7 to form an electron-emitting region 8 having electrically a high resistance.
In FIG. 9 is schematically shown a panel structural example of the image display constituted by using the electron-emitting device of FIGS. 8A and 8B. In the drawing, reference numeral 51 denotes an electron source substrate, reference numeral 52 a X direction wiring, reference numeral 53 a Y direction wiring, reference numeral 54 an electron-emitting device, reference numeral 61 a rear plate, reference numeral 62 a support frame, reference numeral 63 a glass substrate, reference numeral 64 a fluorescent screen, reference numeral 65 a metal back, reference numeral 66 a face plate, reference numeral 67 an envelope, and reference numeral 68 a high voltage power supply.
In the image display in which the electron-emitting devices 54 of the self-luminous type as shown in FIG. 9 are arranged in the shape of a matrix on the rear plate 61, the X direction wirings 52 and the Y direction wirings 53 are provided to supply a power to a plurality of electron-emitting devices 54, and in the cross point of the respective wirings, there is arranged an insulating layer (not shown) at least to prevent both of the wirings from being electrically short-circuited.
In such an image display, in the cross point of the X direction wiring and the Y direction wiring, there are often the cases where a short circuit occurs between the wirings located up and down through the insulating layers. The place where the short circuit occurs is consequentially repaired. For example, though different from the wiring form of the image display, as a repairing example in case a short circuit occurs on a conductive layer located up and down through a semiconductor layer, a repairing method by laser has been proposed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H09-266322.
However, even when an attempt is made to appropriate the repairing method as it is which is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H09-266322 for the repairing of the short circuit between up and down wirings in the above described image display, a time utility in the repairing operation is low, and when an effort is made to improve the time utility, there are often the cases where such an effort results in many short circuit regions to still remain.